


Fireworks

by wendalee



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-12
Updated: 2012-05-12
Packaged: 2017-11-05 06:10:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/403254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendalee/pseuds/wendalee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a challenge at the now-defunct LiveJournal community Gleeverse, Tell Me a Story.</p>
<p>Post-Silly Love Songs, Rachel remembers who is the guy who has always made her see Fireworks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fireworks

**Author's Note:**

> Ignoring Comeback for the sake of plot.

“Did you kiss Quinn?”  
“Yes.”  
“So what did it feel like…when you kissed her?”  
“…fireworks…”  
“Did you see fireworks when you kissed me?”  
I slipped out of the room as his tacit compliance turned to stuttering. I knew what that meant.  
And all of that directly led to this crazy apparent breakdown I was currently having.

**

On occasion, I saw FIREWORKS! when Finn kissed me. But most of the time, I just felt awkward. Can we just say that the boy tries to use too much tongue? And even though I tried to reassure him it wasn’t a problem, his height sometimes caused some major issues in the kissing department. He frequently missed my mouth and started making out with my nose instead.

Yeah. Not romantic at all.

But sitting there, watching his moony face as he remembered what kissing Quinn had felt like, made me realize that he never got over her. And he certainly never felt that strongly about me.

And despite my protestations to the contrary, I had never really bought into Finn either. I knew who had always given me the shaky knees, and it wasn’t Finn.

I had a plan. Thankfully, I just had gotten my driver’s license. After getting a handwritten note from one of my dads saying I was not going to be in school after being exposed to mono, I got into my secret cash fund that I had hidden in my sock drawer in an old Barbra Streisand CD collector’s tin. Then, I took the car, scribbled a note, and took off down I-75.

**

I raced into the American Airlines terminal at the Cincinnati airport. I had always seen people do this in movies – just run up to the ticket counter and scream, “I NEED ON THE NEXT FLIGHT TO NEW YORK!” or whatever.

I had secretly always wanted to do that. And now I got my chance. Sans screaming, of course. I did still have SOME dignity, even after Finn proved what a hypocrite he was. He gets mad at ME and breaks up with ME after I had kissed Puck, and then he turns around and kisses Quinn when he well knows she’s still dating Sam.

But then again, that’s guy logic for you. And it’s in the past. Future me wasn’t even thinking about Finn. It was thinking about being able to use everything I had to talk my way onto this flight.

“Look, I’m really small. I could share a seat with a kid or something. Or did someone buy a seat for a pet? I’ll definitely hold the little Pomeranian or whatever in my lap during the flight.”

“Ma’am, that’s against safety regulations. I am doing the best I can. Please be patient.”

This woman had apparently never met me. Patience was never one of my strong suits. Finally, she laid out the plan, which involved stopping in four different airports along the way, printed off my tickets.

“And Ms. Berry? One last thing. RUN!”

I looked at my ticket. I had 35 minutes to get through security and all the way across the airport. I tightened the strap on my carry-on, which was laced across my chest, got a firm grip on my rolling suitcase, and took off in the direction the ticket agent had pointed me. Seeing the signs for security, I took a sharp left and ran as quickly as I could to the security checkpoint, even passing up my last chance (in this airport anyway) for a grande decaf low-fat soy cinnamon dolce latte from Starbucks.

I had to make this flight. I couldn’t explain why, I just had to.

**

Thirty minutes later, with just five minutes to spare, I was panting (and sweating quite indelicately, I might add) in my seat, waving goodbye at the Cincinnati airline.

“This is a non-stop flight with service at O’Hare Airport in Chicago,” came the flight-attendant’s calming voice.

Must breathe. Just breathe. You can at least sit down for 45 minutes here.

I pulled my laptop out of my carry-on and stuck my earphones in. Playing Minesweeper was a good way to kill a half-hour and also very relaxing. But as soon as the fasten seat belts light came on, the laptop was back in its case and my foot was jiggling so much that the lady next to me complained that I was vibrating her chair.

Finally, we touched down. After deplaning, I (not-so) calmly asked the woman at the top of the jetway where my next gate was. She pointed me in the right direction and managed not to be so shocked when I sprinted away. I scarcely had time to make that flight as well.

“This is a non-stop flight with service in Omaha, Nebraska,” came the flight-attendant’s calming voice. I had never even been to Nebraska. The only thing I knew about it was that it was boring. And they apparently have a lot of farmers there.

I spent most of that flight playing Solitaire. And wondering what he would say when he saw me.

My final leg went through Houston, Texas. The only thing I remember from my race through that airport was that it was hot and humid in Houston. It was fairly easy to race through Chicago and Omaha. But in Houston, I felt as though my limbs were running in slow motion. I kept having to stop to catch my breath. I almost felt like I was either hyperventilating or needed an inhaler.

But I pushed through, knowing it was the last running I would probably be doing that day. It’s a good thing I spend most mornings working out on my elliptical.

As I sank into my seat for my final flight, I wondered what his reaction would be. And for the first time, I started to think that maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

Maybe Finn was right. Maybe I was meant to be alone. Mercedes was alone and still determined to be a star before she settled down. Maybe I should try that route.

But I discovered that I really didn’t want to wait. I needed to know now.

After touching down, I hailed a cab and gave the driver the address. I was so nervous, I almost asked the driver to stop so I could puke out the door. And then we were pulling up in front of the address.

“Are you sure this is it?”

“90210 Pebble Lane. This would be it.” I gave the driver some cash and nervously walked up to the door. I reset my hair, ran my tongue over my teeth to make sure I didn’t have any airline pretzel stuck in my teeth, and rang the bell.

“Rachel? What are you doing here?”

“Jesse, I just had to see you.” And then, with him still staring at me in disbelief, I put my arms around his neck and pulled him in and gave him a soft kiss.

Yup, the fireworks were still there. And judging by the way he put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, I knew they were still there for him too.


End file.
